OIPL to pay Rs 145 cr more for Bhedabahal UMPP

The payment is on account of interest for procurement of private land for Odisha's first UMPP

The Odisha Integrated Power Ltd (OIPL), a fully owned subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation (PFC), would pay Rs 145 crore as interest on procurement of private land for the first-ultra mega power project (UMPP) in the state.

The maiden UMPP with a capacity of 4,000 Mw is coming up at Bhedabahal in Sundargarh district.

“The disbursement of compensation for acquiring 2,732.56 acres of private land is under progress. A total compensation of Rs 148.49 crore out of total land cost of Rs 634 crore has been disbursed”, PFC said in a status report submitted to the Odisha government.

Government land of 443.49 acres for the UMPP is being alienated in 36 cases out of which approval has been accorded to five lease cases (53.13 acres) and permissive possession has been granted in four cases (26.96 acres).

The proposal for diversion of 68.88 acres of revenue forest land for non-forest use is under consideration by the regional chief conservator of forests, Rourkela.

The Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the UMPP was issued on September 25 last year. OIPL has received applications from nine prospective developers- Adani Power Ltd, CLP India Ltd, Jindal Power Ltd, JSW Energy Ltd, Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC), NTPC Ltd, Sterlite Infraventures Ltd and Tata Power Ltd.

The selection of bidder is being done as per the tariff based competitive bidding guidelines issued by the Central government on design, build, finance, own and transfer (DBFOT) basis.

Three coal blocks- Meenakshi, Meenakshi B and dip side of Meenakshi with combined deposit of 838 million tonne have been allocated for the UMPP. Presently, Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI) is demarcating the coal blocks. Notification under Section 11 of Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act has been issued for the Meenakshi coal block.

OIPL has submitted a revised proposal for environment clearance in October 2013. The proposal is under consideration of the Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF).

Two more UMPPs are set to come up in Odisha. It has been decided to set up the second UMPP at Bijoypatna in Chandbali tehsil of Bhadrak district and third UMPP at Narla under Kesinga sub-division in Kalahandi district. The sites have been selected after field visits by PFC.

Two subsidiaries- Sakhigopal Integrated Power Company Ltd and Ghogarpalli Integrated Power Company Ltd have been formed by PFC to execute these two UMPPs. The second and third UMPPs would contribute 2,000 Mw each to the state grid.